Lest We Forget
by EJGeeky
Summary: Harry never thought he would see young men and women sacrifice themselves for a pointless cause. He never thought he would understand what the men in the trenches of WW1 felt like. He never believed he would go to war.


**I don't own Harry Potter or the song.**

Harry always felt very emotional on Remembrance Day. Even during the assembly's they had been given during primary school. Maybe, even then, he had known that he was destined for war. When he was ten they had played a song to go along with the pictures.

_Oh __how __do __you __do, __young __Willy __McBride__  
><em>_Do __you __mind __if __I __sit __here __down by __your __graveside_

Harry had done just that the week after all the funerals. Sat by each gravestone and talked to them all, imagining what they would have said if they were still there.

_And __rest __for __a __while __'neath __the __warm __summer __sun__  
><em>_I've __been __walking __all __day, __and __I'm __nearly __done__  
><em>_And __I __see __by __your __gravestone __you __were __only __nineteen__  
><em>_When __you __joined __the __great __fallen __in __1916_

Colin Creevy had been sixteen and Fred Weasley had been twenty. It was too young. They had all their lives to live and it had been cruelly snatched away from them in an instant.

_Wel__l __I __hope __you __died __quick__  
><em>_And __I __hope __you __died __clean__  
><em>_Oh __Willy __McBride, __was __it __slow __and __obscene_

He hoped that none of them felt any pain when they went but he didn't feel that was the case. When Voldemort had struck him every inch of his body had ached. He didn't even want to begin to imagine.

_Did they __beat __the __drums __slowly?__  
><em>_Did __they __play __the __fife __lowly?__  
><em>_Did __they __sound __the __death __march __as __they __lowered __you __down?__  
><em>_Did __the __band __play __the __Last __Post __in __chorus?__  
><em>_Did __the __pipes __play __the __Flowers __of __the __Forest?_

With the war Harry and Hermione introduced lots of muggle Remembrance Day customs. They had held proper soldier's funerals for their fallen loved ones. They marched, played the last post and held a one minute silence every year on the 2nd of May.

_And __did __you __leave __a __wife __or __a __sweetheart __behind__  
><em>_In __some __loya__l __heart __is __your __memory __enshrined__  
><em>_And __though __you __died __back __in __1916__  
><em>_To __that __loyal __heart __you're __forever __nineteen_

Angelina married George many years later but every time she looked at him or her son she would see Fred in his prime. Twenty years old and on top of the world. Colin's brother Dennis was the only one close enough to him to be distraught. Remus and Tonks had died together but this was no comfort to everyone else.

_Or __are __you __a __stranger __without __even __a __name__  
><em>_Forever __enshrined __behind __some __old __glass __pane__  
><em>_In __an __old __photograph __torn, __tattered, __and __stained__  
><em>_And __faded __to __yellow __in __a __brown __leather __frame_

Maybe, years from now, students would sit through History Of Magic lessons about the heroes. Maybe there would be a family photo that nobody could remember properly.

_Did __they __beat __the __drums __slowly?__  
><em>_Did __they __play __the __fife __lowly?__  
><em>_Did __they __sound __the __death __march __as __they __lowered __you __down?__  
><em>_Did __the __band __play __the __Last __Post __in __chorus?__  
><em>_Did__the__pipes__play__the__Flowers__of__the__Forest?_

Harry's daughter, Lily, seemed to share his opinion of Remembrance Day. She learned of their traditions and sought to promote awareness of what really happened while she was at Hogwarts.

_The __sun __shining __down __on __these __green __fields __of __France__  
><em>_The __warm __wind __blows __gently __and __the __red __poppies __dance__  
><em>_The __trenches __have __vanished __long __under __the __plow__  
><em>_No __gas, __no __barbed __wire, __no __guns __firing __now_

Hogwarts, years later, was a peaceful place. No spells were fired to wound and murder people. The flowers danced in the breeze and people were happy._  
><em>

_But __here __in __this __graveyard __that's __still __no __man's __land__  
><em>_The __countless __white __crosses __in __mute __witness __stand__  
><em>_To __man's __blind __indifference __to __his __fellow __man__  
><em>_And __a __whole __generation __were __butchered __and __damned_

The graveyard had been built at Hogwarts. Students tried to avoid it because it was 'creepy'. It took Harry back to a time where nobody cared when the harmed another. To every student in his time at Hogwarts. Every single one was effected.

_Did __they __beat __the __drums __slowly?__  
><em>_Did __they __play t__he __fife __lowly?__  
><em>_Did __they __sound __the __death __march __as __they __lowered __you __down?__  
><em>_Did __the __band __play __the __Last __Post __in __chorus?__  
><em>_Did __the __pipes __play __the __Flowers __of __the __Forest?_

When Harry heard about all the muggle wars he would mourn every single one of them. He hated war. In some ways, he hated it even more than Voldemort.

_And __I __can't __help __but __wonder __oh __Willy __McBride__  
><em>_Do __all __those __who __lie __here __know __why __they __died?__  
><em>_Did __you __really __believe __them __when __they __told __you __the __cause?__  
><em>_Did __you __really __believe __that __this __war __would __end __wars?_

Harry often wondered whether his parents had truly believed that they would defeat Voldemort. Whether all the order had believed that. It wasn't right that they didn't know just why they died.

_Well __the __suffering, __the __sorrow, __the __glory, __the __shame__  
><em>_The __killing __and __dying __it __was __all __done __in __vain__  
><em>_Oh __Willy __McBride __it __all __happened __again__  
><em>_And __again, __and __again, __and __again, __and __again_

Long after Harry was gone it began again. His great-grandchildren fought for him. They knew that he would have been distraught to know that all his work had been pointless. That his friends and family had all died in vain.

_Did __they __beat __the __drums __slowly?__  
><em>_Did __they __play __the __fife l__owly?__  
><em>_Did __they __sound __the __death __march __as __they __lowered __you __down?__  
><em>_Did __the __band __play __the __Last __Post __in c__horus?__  
><em>_Did __the __pipes __play __the __Flowers __of __the __Forest?_

They did it all again. Harry Potter and Hermione Weasley had started the tradition so they weren't going to change it. They beat the drums slowly. They played the fife lowly. They sounded the death march as they lowered them down. The band played the Last Post in chorus. The pipes played the Flowers of the Forest. Too many times.

**My ****history ****teacher ****played ****this ****song ****today. ****It****'****s ****called**** "****Green ****Fields ****of ****France". I****t ****makes ****me ****want ****to ****cry. ****I ****wrote ****this ****because ****there ****aren****'t ****enough ****Remembrance ****Day ****fic****'****s ****out****there.**


End file.
